The Indirect ROI Chain
You can always show your work is worth the money by walking the small steps from what you made to what it changed to what it's worth, instead of proving it in one leap.
The mechanism
The chart lays out three examples in rows - a software team, a data team, an ads team - each moving across three columns: what you made, what it changed, and what it's worth in dollars. A saved login becomes results delivered sooner, which becomes $6K per client a year; a reporting system becomes hours given back, which becomes $150K a year. A red banner at the top marks the mistake of trying to prove worth in a single jump. The dollar figure is one the client already tracks - you just follow the steps they already count.
Part of Productization. How you package and price the work.